USDA to add more scrutiny for 2,4-D-, dicamba-resistant crops

"We are pleased that USDA has recognized that its decision regarding Dow and Monsanto's new GE seeds could have serious and harmful impacts on rural communities. We are hearing from farmers across the country who are extremely worried about USDA's possible approval of these seeds, which are designed to be used with herbicides considered likely to drift, damage crops, threaten farmers' livelihoods and rural communities' health.

At the same time, USDA's insistence that it only has authority to make a decision based on whether the seed itself constitutes a plant pest risk — rather than on its real-life impacts on people and the environment when used as intended (i.e. with these pesticides) — illustrates the gaping flaws in our regulatory system."